Watch Elvis this Spring Break!

Have some fun this spring break by watching a few films starring Elvis Presley.

Presley rose to fame in the 1950s to become one of the most celebrated performers in America. As a singer, he helped popularize rock 'n' roll music with his unique sound and his famous dance moves which usually created near hysteria from fans. His music topped record charts with such major hits as "Don't Be Cruel" and "Hound Dog." He was heard on radio and seen on television with appearances on The Ed Sullivan Show. By 1956, already a major star, he turned to film acting and took on roles ranging from somewhat autobiographical story lines to romantic musicals. He received positive reviews for a number of his films including Jailhouse Rock and Viva Las Vegas.




Check out these films from Butler Media!

• Blue Hawaii


• Double Trouble


• G.I. Blues


• Girl Happy


• Harum Scarum


• It Happened at the World's Fair


• Jailhouse Rock


• Kissin' Cousins


• Live a little, love a little


• Speedway


• Spinout


• Stay Away Joe


• Tickle Me


• Trouble With Girls


• Viva Las Vegas

Dark Shadows

Dark Shadows aired on the ABC television network from 1966 -1971. Best described as a Gothic soap opera, meet Barnabas Collins, the vampire, Victoria Winters, and other family members as they encounter werewolves, ghosts, witches and other monsters. You will find familiar plot elements, very cool sets, unforgettable music -- and likely become transfixed by the characters and storylines. Never a dull moment in Collinsport!



Tim Burton is directing a film version starring Johnny Depp as Barnabus. Look for the film in 2012. For now, you can view hundreds of episodes on DVD now available from Butler Media!

Six Degrees of an Oscar Nominated Film!

Nominated for Best Picture, The Fighter was directed by David O. Russell (Best Director nominee). This bio-pic tells the story of professional boxer Micky Ward and the tumultuous relationship with his half-brother, Dicky Eklund. Love overcomes all kinds of struggles in this story with superb performances by Christian Bale (Best Supporting Actor nominee), Mark Wahlberg (sadly overlooked), Melissa Leo who gives an outstanding performance as the mother (Best Supporting Actress nominee), and Amy Adams (Best Supporting Actress nominee).


Six Degrees brings us to Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (d. Ang Lee).


Butler Media
DVD1169

Proximity Operators for Full-Text Searching

Sarah Witte, Reference and Women's Studies Librarian, posted to the Butler Library Blog an essential resource for proximity searching in full-text databases. Created by Bob Scott, DHC Head, the list is an aid to understanding the different choices in syntax depending on the database provider. It is frustrating that this is not more uniform, but well worth the effort.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Happy Valentine's Day!

My recommendation, an unexpected love story -- The Awful Truth. The film was directed by Leo McCarey, the screenplay based on the play of the same name and written by Arthur Richman. The featured actors include Irene Dunne, who was nominated for Best Actress, and a fabulous Cary Grant. The real treat, Skippy! A true scene stealer, Skippy, as Mr. Smith, the dog in the forefront of a custody battle, displayed both great range of emotion and outstanding comedic talent. You may recognize Skippy as Asta (credited as) in M-G-M's The Thin Man series and Bringing Up Baby.

I suggest a new Oscar category -- Best Featured Dog or Cat! Skippy aka Asta -- deserves the Academy Award for Best Featured Doggy!

McCarey won an Academy Award for direction. Also starring, Ralph Bellamy. In the same year, McCarey also directed the brilliant and heart wrenching film, Make Way For Tomorrow.

The Awful Truth

Butler Media

DVD4501

Six Degrees of an Oscar Nominated Film!

Written and directed by the Coen brothers, True Grit (2010) is nominated for 10 Oscars including Best Picture. Its wide appeal has made this the highest grossing film for the Coen brothers. It is the second adaptation of the Charles Portis' novel, the first adaptation produced in 1969 starred John Wayne.

The trail of six degrees begins with Jeff Bridges and ends with Being John Malkovich -- the featured DVD of the week!

Being John Malkovich

Butler Media

DVD1182

Six Degrees of an Oscar Nominated Film!

Nominated for 8 Oscars including Best Picture, The Social Network, chronicles the contentious events that led to the founding of Facebook. If you follow the first degree to Aaron Sorkin, nominated for his screenplay, you will eventually get to Kinsey!

Kinsey

DVD3548

Six Degrees of an Oscar Nominated Film!

In anticipation of the Academy Awards on February 27th, I will be featuring a DVD each week that is connected by six degrees to a film nominated for best picture. Beginning this week with The King's Speech as the film nominated for best picture -- I ended with Fargo! Can you trace the degrees?

Hint -- the degrees are comprised of films and actors only.

Fargo

DVD8349

Academy Award Nominations Announced!

The King's Speech received the most nominations including Best Picture, Best Director, and in the acting categories -- nominations for Best Actor, and Best Actor in a Supporting Role, and Best Actress in a Supporting Role. For more information -- see The New York Times, Variety, and Oscar.com.

BIG LOVE the fifth and final season!

The fifth and final season of this HBO series is underway. Not without controversy and mixed critical reception, the show is about the Hendricksons, a polygamous family living in Utah. Co-created by Mark Olsen and Will Scheffer and starring Bill Paxton, Jeanne Tripplehorn, Chloe Sevigny, and Ginnifer Goodwin -- the family continues to face challenges both at home and with their recent decision to go public about their religion and lifestyle. The show has featured Mary Kay Place, Harry Dean Stanton, Ellen Burstyn, Grace Zabriskie, and Bruce Dern.

Track the action with Arts Beat at the New York Times -- and if you are new to the series -- spend some time with the first three seasons all available from Butler Media.

Season 1 -- Offsite MPDVD00975

Season 2 -- DVD11793

Season 3 -- DVD11794

Season 4 -- on order!